Browsing by Author "Melbourne, Te Waaka"
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- ItemTe wairua kōmingomingo o te Māori = The spiritual whirlwind of the Māori : a thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Māori Studies, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2011) Melbourne, Te Waaka; Melbourne, Te WaakaThis thesis examines Māori spirituality reflected in the customary words Te Wairua Kōmingomingo o te Maori. Within these words Te Wairua Kōmingomingo o te Māori; the past and present creates the dialogue sources of Māori understandings of its spirituality formed as it were to the intellect of Māori land, language, and the universe. This is especially exemplified within the confinements of the marae, a place to create new ongoing spiritual synergies and evolving dialogues for Māori. The marae is the basis for meaningful cultural epistemological tikanga Māori customs and traditions which is revered. Marae throughout Aotearoa is of course the preservation of the cultural and intellectual rights of what Māori hold as mana (prestige), tapu (sacred), ihi (essence) and wehi (respect) – their tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty). This thesis therefore argues that while Christianity has taken a strong hold on Māori spirituality in the circumstances we find ourselves, never-the-less, the customary, and traditional sources of the marae continue to breath life into Māori. This thesis also points to the arrival of the Church Missionary Society which impacted greatly on Māori society and accelerated the advancement of colonisation. The Gospel and the arrival of its new frontiers of spirituality were forceful and complex. Te Wairua Kōmingomingo for Māori therefore changed direction and adapted to the Gospel message. Within this message the Anglican Church in Aotearoa to its credit attempted to align its direction with Māori. In this regard the 1992 Constitution of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia was created which contained provisions for the recognition of three separate huarahi (pathways) - Māori, Pākehā and Polynesian. The provision of these three pathways to carry out its spiritual mission inculcated in their own distinctive cultural practices. With this aligned direction the constitution prevails itself to meet the cultural prescient of the meaning of Te Wairua Kōmingomingo o te Māori linked as it were to the principals of the Treaty of Waitangi. Following through from the process of colonisation the turbulent years of the 19th century Māori communities had lost vast amounts of land through deliberate government legislation supported by land wars. The Māori population was decimated. This thesis therefore begins by looking at the culture and the theology of this predominately Māori-speaking community of Ruātoki taking into account the dreams and visions of a farmer George Melbourne alongside the Tūhoe prophet Rua Kēnana who together with their understanding of Te Wairua Kōmingomingo o te Māori developed the City of God in Maungapōhatu in the early 1900s to reinforce the position for Tūhoe and Māori. In 1916 a police expedition arrested Rua Kēnana on trumped up charges and this exact scene was again repeated in October 2007 in Ruātoki. This thesis therefore examines these two very specific invasions and throughout the thesis states a case for Te Wairua Kōmingomingo o te Māori as a platform to be supported and continued.
- ItemWairua Maori rua mano = Maori spirituality 2000 : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy at Massey University(Massey University, 2000) Melbourne, Te WaakaThis thesis examines Maori Spirituality as it was in its early form of primal religion and some aspects of what it is today in the new millennium. The paper argues that while Christianity has made a strong hold on Maori Spirituality, never the less, primal belief is very much alive in the midst of the ordinary life of the Maori, especially in the precinct of the Marae. The paper begins by looking at pre-European Maori beliefs and their genesis story which laid down the charter for the dynamic relationships between Maori and their environment as it unfolds in the dramatic myth stories, handed down orally from generation to generation. These stories guide the Maori to an understanding of where they come from, who they are and where they are going. The impact of the arrival of another culture along with Christianity brought about dramatic changes for Maori in their relationship with their ecology, their gods and with one another. Conversion to Christianity was slow and ponderous. The Gospel, introduced by the missionaries, contributed to Maori becoming British subjects but the results were disastrous for Maori. The Treaty, in its Maori text, was signed by most chiefs ceding governance to the British Crown while guaranteeing the chiefs' supremacy over their land and property, their 'tino rangatiratanga. It was the beginning of the end for Maori. By the turn of twentieth century, colonisation, through greed and broken promises, had stripped Maori of their land and their 'tino rangatiratanga'. The Maori population was in a perilous situation and many predicted Maori would soon to be extinct. With the help of modern technology, a new dawn of consciousness became evident as contemporary arts of carving, tukutuku weaving, and painting took shape within the precincts of the Marae. Performing arts also came into their own as formal speeches, waiata, poetry, action songs, poi, and haka served to inspire and encourage the younger generations within the bounds of the Marae, the last bastion of the Maori. The Marae became a pivotal point for Maori survival and spirituality. For over a century the indigenous people of Aotearoa were subjugated and served as a second class citizen within their own country under the rule of the State and Church. However the Anglican Church in New Zealand, in 1990, changed its constitution of 1875 to embrace the Treaty of Waitangi. It meant, for its Maori members that through self-determination, self-propagation and self-supporting activities, their 'tino rangatiratanga', their 'wairua'(spirituality) had finally been achieved, but this is only one section of the community in Aotearoa. The challenge and the hope is that the wider community, especially the governing body, may yet accept 'tino rangatiratanga' for what it is, an expression of Wairua Maori, Maori Spirituality.